Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Talking with Michael Crichton


As Thanksgiving approaches, I remember with deep gratitude the month of November 2005. I had the honor of participating in a month-long online discussion on State of Fear with Michael Crichton through the Barnes & Noble website. Here are a few snippets of my conversations with him.

I wrote:
May we have a sequel to Travels soon please?
Michael:
Actually, I have been trying to get a sequel to Travels finished for quite some time. I don't know how it happened but it has been almost twenty years since that book...

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I wrote:
I find it interesting that NERF and ELF, the two sinister organizations, have acronyms that remind me of things from childhood: nerf balls and other nerf toys, and elf, one of Santa’s little helpers. It’s an amusing and ironic contrast. Michael, was that intentional?
Michael:
That never occurred to me while working! Interesting. I was aware that ELF was the same initials as an actual organization. And I was aware that the book SPHERE was at one time titled "ULF"---don't ask me why, I can't remember now.

And there is a slang meaning for nerf, which is kind of hipster-childish, but not widely known, so I figured it would not influence most readers. But as for the similarities between the two...never crossed my mind.

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Another participant in the discussion, J, wrote:
OMG! You wrote to me!!!
I wrote:
He wrote to you! He wrote to me too! (Virtually hold hands and scream together) :-0

J:
LOL!

Michael:
Yes, and I could do it again...

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Crichton commented numerous times during the discussion on a wide variety of topics. I never got to meet him in person, but I am still very thankful I had the opportunity to communicate with him in some manner.

Related posts:

Michael Crichton – Favorite Holiday Recipes

Thank You, Michael Crichton

Friday, November 2, 2012

Celebrating Michael Crichton - Part 3: Favorites


My favorite of all of Michael Crichton’s works is his autobiography Travels. (See the letter I wrote to him about it.) Travels was also Crichton’s favorite book. During an online discussion in 2005, Michael Crichton told me he was working on a sequel. I hope we get to read it someday.

My favorite of his novels is Timeline. I love the combination of science and history. Plus Andre Marek is one of Crichton’s best characters.

What are your favorite Michael Crichton books?

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